🆕 Software Suggestion | PrivacySpy #1313

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2019-09-14T21:33:25Z

milesmcc commented

2019-09-14 21:33:25 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Basic Information

Name: PrivacySpy
Category: Information
URL: https://privacyspy.org

Description

PrivacySpy uses a consistent rubric to grade major services' privacy practices on a ten-point scale. It's a new open source project that is dedicated to making privacy policies more accessible. PrivacySpy is not unlike ToS;DR (which is already featured in the "Information" section), except it takes a more rubric-driven approach to grading the policies, and it's dedicated to privacy policies only. Full disclosure: I'm one of the maintainers of PrivacySpy, but given that the project is open-source and supported by a non-profit, there's no ulterior motive here.

Here's an excerpt from the "About" page:

Most people don’t have the patience to read privacy policies. But privacy is important, and we shouldn’t just trust that products are treating our data right. PrivacySpy uses a consistent rubric to grade privacy policies on a ten-point scale. [...]

PrivacySpy makes privacy policies more convenient and accessible for those who simply don't have the time—or patience—to read full privacy policies themselves.

Source code (website): https://github.com/Politiwatch/PrivacySpy-Core
Source code (extension): https://github.com/Politiwatch/PrivacySpy-Extension

## Basic Information **Name:** PrivacySpy **Category:** Information **URL:** https://privacyspy.org ## Description PrivacySpy uses a consistent rubric to grade major services' privacy practices on a ten-point scale. It's a new [open source](https://github.com/Politiwatch/PrivacySpy-Core) project that is dedicated to making privacy policies more accessible. PrivacySpy is not unlike ToS;DR (which is already featured in the "Information" section), except it takes a more rubric-driven approach to grading the policies, and it's dedicated to privacy policies only. Full disclosure: I'm one of the maintainers of PrivacySpy, but given that the project is open-source and supported by a non-profit, there's no ulterior motive here. Here's an excerpt from the "About" page: > Most people don’t have the patience to read privacy policies. But privacy is important, and we shouldn’t just trust that products are treating our data right. PrivacySpy uses a consistent rubric to grade privacy policies on a ten-point scale. [...] > > PrivacySpy makes privacy policies more convenient and accessible for those who simply don't have the time—or patience—to read full privacy policies themselves. Source code (website): https://github.com/Politiwatch/PrivacySpy-Core Source code (extension): https://github.com/Politiwatch/PrivacySpy-Extension

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milesmcc commented

2019-09-14 21:34:59 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Also, there are (of course) no ads, trackers, etc. on the site. (And it's all open source, so you can verify that!)

Mikaela commented

2019-09-14 21:36:52 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

I missed your link, but https://github.com/Politiwatch & https://github.com/Politiwatch/PrivacySpy-Extension weren't directly linked.

I am not a coder or able to read the source code and it's 00.36 for me, so this was all I am going to do right now.

I missed your link, but https://github.com/Politiwatch & https://github.com/Politiwatch/PrivacySpy-Extension weren't directly linked. I am not a coder or able to read the source code and it's 00.36 for me, so this was all I am going to do right now.

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milesmcc commented

2019-09-14 21:38:09 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

I'll update my original post to include those links, too! Thanks.

nitrohorse commented

2019-09-14 21:44:55 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Thanks for sharing! Looks really helpful.

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blacklight447 commented

2019-09-15 13:42:29 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

it looks pretty good, it looks like a sleeker version of tosdr.
i have some questions though: are you aiming to get as many services on there as possible, or mostly just bigger onces? if so, how do you plan to keep all the ratings up to date?

it looks pretty good, it looks like a sleeker version of tosdr. i have some questions though: are you aiming to get as many services on there as possible, or mostly just bigger onces? if so, how do you plan to keep all the ratings up to date?

milesmcc commented

2019-09-15 16:40:35 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Hey @blacklight447-ptio —

We're trying to get as many services on there as possible, but we're focusing mainly on starting with the biggest ones.

That said, we plan to take archives of as many sites' privacy policies as we can (without assigning ratings) because simply having an archive of a service's privacy policy at a certain point in time can be helpful. For example, having unrated policies on the site allows us to track changes to that policy, even if no one has gotten around to rating it yet.

That said, for the sites that do have ratings, here's how we plan to keep everything up to date:

PrivacySpy takes a wiki-like (note that I did not say wiki) approach to user contributions. Anyone can suggest changes, and then they must either be approved by an admin or the maintainer for that particular policy. (More on maintainers below.) This allows anyone to identify out-of-date sections and bring them to our attention.
Each product on PrivacySpy has a maintainer who is in charge of keeping it up to date. Usually, maintainers are people who use the product in question a lot—so instead of trusting the admins to keep track of when policies change, we instead give that ability to people who actually use the service themselves (and are more likely to know when a policy does change).
We're super upfront about when everything was last updated. Not only do we publish when policies were first published and last updated, we also show when each individual rubric decision was decided. So if something is out of date, it should be pretty clear judging by the 'last modified' dates. If something hasn't been updated in a long time (> 1 year), we plan on automatically adding a small warning on the top of the page.
Tied to the automatic warning system, we plan on adding a system that automatically notifies maintainers and admins when this warning is added (when a policy hasn't been updated in over a year) so that they can verify that everything is up to date manually.

Anyway, I hope this conveys how we plan on keeping all the info on the site up to date—and how, when things inevitably become out of date, we plan on getting things corrected ASAP.

Hey @blacklight447-ptio — We're trying to get as many services on there as possible, but we're focusing mainly on starting with the biggest ones. That said, we plan to take archives of as many sites' privacy policies as we can (without assigning ratings) because simply having an archive of a service's privacy policy at a certain point in time can be helpful. For example, having unrated policies on the site allows us to track changes to that policy, even if no one has gotten around to rating it yet. That said, for the sites that _do_ have ratings, here's how we plan to keep everything up to date: * PrivacySpy takes a wiki-**like** (note that I did _not_ say wiki) approach to user contributions. Anyone can suggest changes, and then they must either be approved by an admin or the maintainer for that particular policy. (More on maintainers below.) This allows anyone to identify out-of-date sections and bring them to our attention. * Each product on PrivacySpy has a maintainer who is in charge of keeping it up to date. Usually, maintainers are people who use the product in question a lot—so instead of trusting the admins to keep track of when policies change, we instead give that ability to people who _actually use the service themselves_ (and are more likely to know when a policy does change). * We're super upfront about when everything was last updated. Not only do we publish when policies were first published and last updated, we also show when _each individual rubric decision_ was decided. So if something _is_ out of date, it should be pretty clear judging by the 'last modified' dates. If something hasn't been updated in a long time (> 1 year), we plan on automatically adding a small warning on the top of the page. * Tied to the automatic warning system, we plan on adding a system that automatically notifies maintainers and admins when this warning is added (when a policy hasn't been updated in over a year) so that they can verify that everything is up to date manually. Anyway, I hope this conveys how we plan on keeping all the info on the site up to date—and how, when things inevitably become _out of date_, we plan on getting things corrected ASAP.

👍 2

blacklight447 commented

2019-09-15 17:29:36 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

I see, i like it a lot that you already have policies in place for this, as this is one of my main critiques for Tosdr. i also enjoy that your client are open source. I also noticed the project is affiliated with some non profit call politiwatch, could you tell me a bit more about it?

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milesmcc commented

2019-09-15 18:07:02 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Sure @blacklight447-ptio — Politiwatch is a non-profit that I run that houses public accountability, civic information, and data privacy projects. It exists primarily so that the projects can receive tax-deductible donations and receive discounted infrastructure. (Some service providers give discounts to non-profits, like ProtonMail and DigitalOcean.)

Here's the homepage: https://politiwatch.org

Sure @blacklight447-ptio — Politiwatch is a non-profit that I run that houses public accountability, civic information, and data privacy projects. It exists primarily so that the projects can receive tax-deductible donations and receive discounted infrastructure. (Some service providers give discounts to non-profits, like ProtonMail and DigitalOcean.) Here's the homepage: https://politiwatch.org

blacklight447 commented

2019-09-17 09:37:33 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

I would actually be fine to replace tosdr with this in the extension section. this is mainly because tosdr seems to be rather dead

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blacklight447 commented

2019-09-19 11:24:09 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

@Mikaela @JonahAragon @dawidpotocki @nitrohorse thoughts?

milesmcc commented

2019-09-19 14:12:43 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Just chiming in to say that I'm glad that the response to PrivacySpy has been so positive. I don't have any opinion on whether to remove ToS;DR from the site—as I see it, ToS;DR is a different kind of service, so having both might not be an issue—but either way, all is well.

I just hope PrivacySpy ends up on the site! I think it could really be a helpful tool for a lot of people.

Just chiming in to say that I'm glad that the response to PrivacySpy has been so positive. I don't have any opinion on whether to remove ToS;DR from the site—as I see it, ToS;DR is a different kind of service, so having both might not be an issue—but either way, all is well. I just hope PrivacySpy ends up on the site! I think it could really be a helpful tool for a lot of people.

blacklight447 commented

2019-09-19 14:35:43 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Oh that's all okay, but the problem is is that tosdr seems to be rather inactive , so we no longer know how long it has been since someone checked it, without going thru the hassle and checking the policy ourselves (hence defeating tosdrs purpose)

nitrohorse commented

2019-09-20 04:56:14 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Their blog isn't even setup, and their browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome haven't been updated in a year but it looks like the project is still active based on their GitHub activity and working group. Regardless I think PrivacySpy would be a good addition.

Their [blog isn't even setup](https://blog.tosdr.org/), and their browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome haven't been updated in a year but it looks like the project is still active based on their [GitHub activity](https://github.com/tosdr/) and [working group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/tosdr). Regardless I think PrivacySpy would be a good addition.

Mikaela commented

2019-09-20 16:03:12 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Maybe after https://github.com/privacytoolsIO/privacytools.io/issues/1327 ?

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nitrohorse commented

2019-09-20 16:20:17 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Ah yeah, forgot to mention that; extension categories would be good before more additions I think.

lrq3000 commented

2020-06-09 14:23:30 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

I appreciate the clear rating system of PrivacySpy and the attempt to use natural language processing to allow the reader to read an excerpt of the privacy policy. Hence, I find the whole reviewing process of PrivacySpy very transparent and I think this combination of a structured and transparent reviewing process gives it good chances to stay relevant for the foreseeable future, if it gets enough review contributors on boat.

I have created a PR if PrivacySpy is still considered a good fit for PTIO :-)

I appreciate the [clear rating system](https://privacyspy.org/about/) of PrivacySpy and the attempt to use natural language processing to allow the reader to read an excerpt of the privacy policy. Hence, I find the whole reviewing process of PrivacySpy very transparent and I think this combination of a structured and transparent reviewing process gives it good chances to stay relevant for the foreseeable future, if it gets enough review contributors on boat. I have created a PR if PrivacySpy is still considered a good fit for PTIO :-)

🎉 1

dngray commented

2020-10-07 05:05:14 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

I would actually be fine to replace tosdr with this in the extension section. this is mainly because tosdr seems to be rather dead

Are we still in agreement this is the way to proceed? I'm doing a major cleanup as a part of #1328 and #1430 so we might do this too.

> I would actually be fine to replace tosdr with this in the extension section. this is mainly because tosdr seems to be rather dead Are we still in agreement this is the way to proceed? I'm doing a major cleanup as a part of #1328 and #1430 so we might do this too.

👍 2

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Reference: privacyguides/privacytools.io#1313